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The Benefits of All Day Kindergarten

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Posted by Your Guide on March 1, 2006 8:25 PM

It is true that researches have proven a link between all day kindergarten and later success in the elementary grades. Higher scores on standardized tests, more advanced reading ability and higher math scores are just a few of the ways children have shown advanced abilities. In addition to measurable academic achievement, students who experienced the benefit of all day kindergarten also showed more independence in the classroom setting, more willingness to approach teachers and other adults in their school, and advanced social skills such as the ability to work cooperatively in a group learning situation.

At least one study has shown that children who had access to no early learning during the preschool years have, at times, scored higher in later tests than their counterparts who were able to attend preschool but who attended a traditional half day kindergarten program. However, these results have not yet been shown to always be the case.

Parents tend to believe that their children who were able to attend all day kindergarten perform better in later grades than they would have if they had attended a half day kindergarten program. The have expressed a preference for all day programs because of having more time for learning and a less hurried pace than a half day program would allow.

Teachers feel that an all day kindergarten program allows for more individual instruction, more time for independent learning, and proportionally less time spent in transition from one activity to the next than a half day kindergarten program could allow. Many teachers believe that all day programs also allow for small group cooperative work that strengthens social skills and cooperative learning.

Next Page: Is there a Down Side to All Day Kindergarten?

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